so . . . l. stinkbug has few reviewish sorta things and some press sorta almost review-things that i'm gonna spam ya with . . . perhaps it'll be of interest in the way of sharing . . .

stig

***Formed in 1997 by guitarist G.E. Stinson with bassist Steuart Liebig and guitarist Nels Cline, L. Stinkbug consciously chose to complete their line-up with a drummer who could groove-- percussionist Scott Amendola. Both Stinson and Cline prepare their guitars with an assortment of springs, toys, paint brushes, an electric drink stirrer, enough clips to make a beautician queasy, an egg whisk (that's right-- an egg whisk) and numerous other custom-made objects, and run them through a variety of effects, harmonizers and looping devices; same goes for Liebig - chopsticks between the strings, looping devices, extended technique, the works.

L. Stinkbug traffics in "instant compositions" packed with dynamics, textures and virtuosity. The Allure of Roadside Curios opens with an electro-orchestral prelude worthy of Sonic Youth on an exceptional night, building to a roaring, Boredoms-like overture that capsizes into some heavy grind familiar to fans of Lark's Tongue in Aspic-era King Crimson. Yet throughout the album's four tracks (plus a secret fifth one), all recorded live at Bruno's in San Francisco, the quartet's unpitched, heavily electronically altered wakajawaka sprawls like a spacy, permafrost delta in which an electric Miles Davis influence lurks at all times.

Because everyone in L.Stinkbug is involved with numerous other groups, they play together in this configuration infrequently and never tour (their handful of live appearances to date have occurred solely in California - Los Angeles, Ventura, San Francisco, and Berkeley). The Allure of Roadside Curios is a rare opportunity to hear world-class improvisors together at their best.

L. Stinkbug at Rocco.L. Stinkbug should be the soundtrack to the TV news. Nothing else expresses nausea du monde with the same pain, anger and electronic permeation. Nowhere else will you find two guitarists and a bassist like G.E. Stinson, Nels Cline and Steuart Liebig, with the phalangeal dexterity, the collective connectivity and the trunkload of vintage burp boxes appropriate to artful representation of the cosmic vomit. And rarely will you encounter a drummer like Scott Amendola who can both get down with the splatter and groove with dinosaur relentlessness. The four are taking a moment from their many other projects - none of which rises to quite this, uh, rank - to celebrate the release of The Allure of Roadside Curios (on Starlight Records, recorded live and bleeding). This show's an ideal date destination, if you're dating Godzilla.

(Greg Burk, LA Weekly)

New TimesCritic's ChoiceStinkonia: Leave it to guitarist Nels Cline and G.E. Stinson and bassist Steuart Liebig to share a band with such an odius name as L. Stinkbug. Live improvisation is what this outfit's all about, and with blobs of sound that can congeal - like globules in a lava lamp - Stinkbug can be nothing less that sonically heinous. It's an occasional band with the three in LA. and drummer Scott Amendola in San Francisco, so their several year history is fitful. Maybe that keeps the music fresh. The band has a free-range policy toward form (no Foster Farms musicians here), so the music may involve anything from lush soundscapes to Amageddon-in-a-box. While standard jazz improv is not entirely out of the question, don't hold your breath waiting for it. Fuzz boxes and delay loops (even from the drums!) are much in evidence and the traditional instrument roles are often blurred. These guys are all over the map so be ready for anything. Sat., March 23, at Rocco, 6320 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood.